S4445Referred to Committee

Veterans Protection from Fraud Act of 2026

Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both

Signed into Law

119th

Congress

2026-04-30

Introduced

Cosponsors

ⓘ

Type

Sponsor

Catherine Cortez Masto

Democrat · NV · Senator

Votes with party: 78.8% (841 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/C001113

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (1)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Ted Budd (R-NC)Original· 2026-04-30

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

2026-04-30

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Senate Committee on the JudiciaryReferred To · 2026-04-30

Previously

Judiciary CommitteeReferred To · 2026-04-30

Plain-English Summary

The legislation would increase criminal penalties for crimes specifically targeting veterans, making punishments harsher for offenders who commit offenses against people who have served in the military. This would affect both the veterans who are victims of crimes and the individuals convicted of committing crimes against them, potentially resulting in longer prison sentences or steeper fines. The bill is currently under review by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Crime and Law Enforcement

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4445 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4445 To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance penalties for certain crimes committed against veterans, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 30, 2026 Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself and Mr. Budd) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance penalties for certain crimes committed against veterans, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Protection from Fraud Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN CRIMES AGAINST VETERANS. Section 2326(2) of title 18, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' at the end; (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the comma and inserting ``; or''; and (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following: ``(C) targeted veterans (as such term is defined in section 101 of title 38) of any age,''. <all>

Open clean-text view Read on Congress.gov →

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